Anyone who shares their home with a cat will tell you that they’re good for the soul, but there’s now legitimate scientific proof that cats make everything better.

Cat Owners Are Smarter Than Dog Owners

Carroll University in Wisconsin pitched cat owners against dog owners in a battle of wits. The result? On average, cat owners were found to be smarter than those who owned a dog. One psychologist believes that the more introverted nature of cat owners is the reason for these findings.

Cat Owners Are More Empathetic

Children who grow up with cats are more practiced in considering what other people are thinking and feeling. Experiencing empathy from a young age helps children to relate with other people and to consider how their actions will affect others.

Cats Offer Companionship

The idea that cats are worse companions than dogs is now thought to be untrue – especially for women. A Swiss study found that the happiness and companionship from having a cat in the house is equivalent to having a romantic partner. Cats initiate contact and remember kindness shown to them, returning it in the future.

Cat Owners Are Easier to Get Along With

A study of 217 people had the participants rate each other’s personality. Divides between those who owned cats and those who did not quickly became apparent. Pet owners were found easier to socialize with than those who did not own pets.

Cats Are Amazing Therapy Animals

Cats serve as a social support during difficult times, such as the loss of a loved one. Cats have been shown to help people get over their loss more quickly and relieve physical symptoms of pain, such as crying. Speaking to your cat, who won’t respond or judge you, has also been shown to help the grieving process.

Cat Lovers Are More Open-Minded, Sensitive and Rebellious Than Dog Owners

One study out of San Francisco found that cat and dog owners have vastly different personalities and choose their pet based on these differences. Cat owners were found to be more open-minded, more sensitive and more likely to be non-conformists.

Cats Have a Lower Carbon Footprint Than Dogs

Over their lifetime, the resources required to feed and care for a dog have the same impact on the environment as a Hummer. Cats, who eat less in general and more likely to eat fish than corn and beef only have the a carbon footprint the size of a Volkswagen Golf.

Cats Can Be a Child’s Best Friend and Help Development

In a study of children who lived with cats, 81% said that they would rather chat to their cat about their feelings than their parents of friends. Around 87% of the children considered their cat to be a ‘close friend.’

Cats Help Their Owners Recover from Rejection

A study at Miami University asked a group of undergraduates to write about a moment that they experienced rejection. They were then asked to write about their favourite pet and their favourite friend. Thinking about their pets proved just as effective as thinking about their friend when it came to staving off feelings of rejection.

Cats Can Care for Alzheimer’s Sufferers

When they had a cat in their home, people with Alzheimer’s had fewer anxious outbursts. Cats are particularly good pets for Alzheimer’s sufferers because they require less care than dogs.

Children Who Live with Cats Miss Less School

Children who live with a cat miss nine days less of school per year than those who do not. This is because the immune function of a cat owner is far stronger. Children raised with cats were found to be less prone to ear infections in one study.

Cats Lower Cholesterol

Canadian scientists believe that owning a cat can help lower levels of a chemical compound called triglyceride, which causes high cholesterol. Though owning a cat shouldn’t be an excuse to not eat well and exercise.

Cats Might Prevent Some Cancers

One study by the National Institutes of Health found that cat owners have a reduced risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The longer the duration of cat ownership, the less at risk the participants were. The scientists behind the study suggest that contact with cats and the germs they carry may boost resistance.

Cats Act as Social Catalysts

A recent study revealed that having a cat increases one’s ability to like other people. Other studies have found that cats help shy owners to break their social shell and talk to other people more.

Cats Aid Depression

The love of a cat is unconditional, and it’s this love which has led scientists to believe that felines can aid both moderate and severe depression among humans. Knowing that somebody loves you, even a cat, has been proven to combat depression.

Cats Aid Autistic Children

A study by the University of Queensland discovered that autistic children with cats were more likely to speak, look at faces and smile than those without feline contact. The gentle, reserved nature of the typical cat is more familiar to a child with autism than an overly-energetic dog.

Petting a Cat Makes You Happier

Petting a cat increases levels of oxytocin found in the body. Oxytocin is known as the “love hormone” because it is released by touch and increases feelings of happiness.

Cat Owners Visit the Doctor Less

Elderly cat owners pay one less visit to the doctor annually than older people who do not own cats. Researchers behind this discovery believe that older cat owners are happier and less stressed, increasing their overall health and happiness. And even when they do have to visit hospital, they’re discharged earlier.

Cats Make Kids More Gentle and Compassionate

Research has shown that cats act as caretakers for their families. Their loving nature can teach us and our children to be kinder and more gentle souls.

Purring Has Healing Effects

Cats purr within a range of 20 – 140 Hz, which is known to be medically therapeutic for some illnesses. Purring has been known to lower stress, decrease the symptoms of dyspnea, help in the healing of bones and soft tissue as well as lower blood pressure.

Cats Reduce Stress

The University of Missouri found that having cats around reduces levels of stress in humans. The study saw 240 married couples given stress inducing tasks, those who had their cats with them at the time experienced far less stress than those who didn’t.

Cats Enhance the Pulling Power of Men

Gentlemen, get a cat. Surveys have found that over 90% of single women think that men who like cats are more attractive than those who don’t.

Cats Reduce The Risk of Heart Attacks

A 10-year study from the University of Minnesota found that the reduced stress that comes with owning a cat reduces the likeliness of a heart attack by up to 40%.

Owning a Cat May Prevent Asthma and Allergies in Children

Children who live with cats from an early age may well develop an immunity to asthma. A study found that some children develop special antibodies when exposed to cats, preventing them from developing the disease.

Cats Owners Have Fewer Strokes

While researchers aren’t sure why, cat owners are less likely to have a stroke than those who don’t own one. When you consider that cats lower stress, blood pressure and cholesterol, it’s easy to see why we’re less prone to strokes.

There you have it. Never let anyone question your decision to add a feline to your family again. Cats make everything better!